Realization
by AzureF
Summary: The dreams were too much, they seemed to be trying to tell him something... He wakes to the light of the full moon, and as he looks into it's cold gaze, he comes to a realization. He is tired of it all.
1. I Need a Favor

_Written on the spur of the moment, as most of my really philosphical things are.  
This was originally intended to be a one-short, but it ened up going long, and if popular demand calls for it I'll make a second part. If not, it stays as is. I really like this for what it is, and even for what it isn't, if that's even possible.  
Oh, yeah, and this isn't ZADR, if that's what your thinking at the end. It was NEVER intended that way... though I'm neutral on the subject, I'm not a slash writer (not brave enough to try it yet XD) But if you are dead set on taking it that way, go ahead. I don't mind it being thought of like that._

_Sigh, a disclaimer is needed.  
I do not own any Invader Zim characters, in any way shape or form. I WANT to, badly, but considering I don't have billions of dollars right at the moment I can't very well buy the rights from anyone, now, can I?_

_Enjoy this story. ENJOY IT! I COMMAND YOU!_

* * *

It was a warm night. The moon was obscured by only a few stray clouds that wove their wispy way past, their pale gray forms driven by the light, cool wind that served only to keep the temperature of the surrounding air bearable. The leaves high atop the tress rustled, awaiting the sun that would show itself within the span of a few hours. The noise was the only sound in the darkness; even the night creatures were taking some time off to be comfortable in the peaceful atmosphere.

It was so much different from what usually went on. A stranger walking through at this hour would almost be able to think of the neighborhood as a pleasant place.

High above the ground, in one of the most expensive-looking houses that looked that way not in an aesthetic sense, but a technological one, a young boy slept, his dreams shifting from one form to the other until he no longer remembered nor cared what was dream and what was reality. His bed was plain, unadorned with what most normal young children would usually have, and his room, though large, was consciously bare of anything but a complicated, intricate computer system and the clutter around it. The only things that looked overly crowded were the walls, which had so many posters, news clippings, and random articles that it was nearly impossible to tell what color was painted beneath, or even if there was a color at all.

The boy moaned slightly, his hand rising and flipping away from him in a listless movement, the rest of his body following as he turned, his large skull burrowing into the pillow as if to escape some unpleasant knowledge. As he moved, his hair shifted, revealing a long, almost comical lock that stood straight upwards from the front of his head, slicking backwards in a long scythe that astonishingly seemed to remain this way without the help of any type or form of hair gel.

Another troubled groan escaped him, and he curled into a ball, the noise he made reminiscent of sobbing as his head shook back and forth, his closed eyes beginning to show tears forming at the corners as the nightmare held him in its grip, refusing to let him wake from his slumber. The minutes ticked by, shown brightly by the clock on the nightstand whose red numbed glowed and flickered in the shadows, and the nightmare didn't subside. It was as if the boy was squirming in the grip of some evil specter, unable to wake though he much wanted to.

Suddenly, as the number on the clocked switched from 2:29 to 2:30, his eyes opened with a movement so fast that to one watching it would seen that he had been awake all along, their color a brilliant, warm gold that were filled with fear and confusion, haunted by the ghosts of years of strife. Slowly, as if afraid the calm around him would shatter, the boy lifted his arm and reached to his nightstand, fingers fumbling for a moment before coming to rest on a pair of glasses, their lenses large and bright, flashing in the moonlight with a reflection of life. He put them on with a long, drawn out sigh, his gaze roving around the room until it reached the clock, hesitating there long enough to assimilate the information before the boy lowered his gaze, looking at his hands and flexing them, marveling at how different they seemed in the dark, when things that were so clouded in the daylight suddenly became frighteningly clear and dreams became real.

Distantly, he thought of his spy equipment, locked away in his expansive closet that was hidden on the opposite side of the room, covered in so many posters that only the door handle protruding from a mass of articles showed that the barrier was not a wall, but with another tired sigh he rejected the thought, instead moving just enough that the light of the moon reached his eyes. The boy looked up, looked at the cold, impersonal face that had become a symbol of the night, a symbol of mystery and power, feeling lost and weak under its glare. He was tired, so tired. The effort that he put into each day, the things that he strived for… in the dark all his exploits seemed meaningless and trivial. Under the cold face of the moon, his mind expanded, almost to the point that his abnormally large head could no longer hold it. For one brief, fleeting moment, he saw what it all meant, but that moment was gone in an instant, leaving an emptiness inside, one that he couldn't fill even if he worked towards that and only that for the rest of his natural life, however long or short that span might be.

He stood, his short, ten-year-old frame rising to its full height and more as the scythe of hair on his head rose into place, making him seem taller than he actually was. With his sad, tawny gaze, he looked at the plain door to his room, seeming to hesitate for a split second before turning away, a look almost akin to pain in his bi-spectacled eyes before he lifted himself to the windowsill, long black trench coat swaying in the breeze that was allowed in through the wide open window. He looked down towards the ground, seeing the fence around the front yard glowing, crackling and sizzling slightly in a sound that he had grown used to through his many years of staying here.

The long wire that he had attached to the side of the house for just this purpose caught his gaze, but the boy dismissed it with a casual turn of his head, again regarding the dark curve of the ground below, the bushes that would break his fall, and he jumped. His small, light body hit the bushes with a rustle and a thud just loud enough to make him wince resulted from his hitting the ground, but as he stood carefully, cringing at the many small pains resulting from the movement, no lights came on in the house, and no authoritive voice called to him, telling him to go to sleep 'or else'. He let out a breath, and using all of the knowledge he had gained over years of sneaking out, clambered past the fence and onto the dark street, his feet taking him he knew not where, his mind wandering as the pull of the moon above made him restless.

It was no surprise to him when he came to himself standing before the unearthly glow of a freakish, green walled house, the unnerving eyes of the lawn gnomes seeming to watch him as he looked up indifferently, taking in once more the familiar sight of the slanted, shutter windows, the large blue door that would have been more appropriate on a bathroom entrance, and the various signs posted in the dirt that read slogans of how much the resident loved Earth. The boy snorted, seeing the irony with a new light, and had to hold in an amused chuckle as he narrowed his eyes, walking boldly forward into enemy territory, the night's power seeming to control him as he numbly rose his hand, rapping it lightly on the door.

Before he could even pull his hand away, it flew open, and he was faced with the threatening blue-violet glare that had come to be so familiar to him over the past few months. That glare narrowed to dangerous slits as the owner saw him, green skin furrowing at the brow. The boy looked at the other, eyes blank, mind still numb and void of any idea of what to say. For a long moment they stood like this, and in the moment the boy again took in the appearance of the one facing him, noting the stiff, glossy hair that was molded into an Elvis-like style, the defiant, rigid stance and splayed feet, the hands, always gloved, balled into fists as their owner tried to puzzle out the sudden arrival of his mortal enemy on his doorstep, seemingly harmless. The boy almost grinned again, but the overwhelming exhaustion that had been with him ever since he had woken prevented it; the other was on the verge of asking the question, he knew. He saw it in the way his eye twitched, the way his gaze faltered for just an instant, presumably bothered by the noise of the television in the background but more disturbed by the lack of noise from the scythe haired boy.

"YOU!" He cried suddenly, his hand pointing directly at the boy, who stood as if nothing was happening, not even flinching from the sheer volume of the word, "Why are you at the doorstep of the great and mighty ZIIIIM! I could destroy you now, Dib, and my mission would go on smoothly! What plan have you, earth-stink! TELL ZIM!"

"I… don't know, Zim," the boy, Dib, replied, looking troubled for the first time since he had snuck out of his house, letting his feet lead him here, to the door of the alien he had been trying for so long to expose. He looked up at the moon, gaze searching, and again he found that sudden, fleeting understanding that reminded him of why he was here, why he had come, "Wait… I… I think I know…"

"Out with it!" barked the green-skinned creature, "ZIM doesn't have all day… er… NIGHT!"

"I'm tired, Zim," Dib replied, ignoring the interruption of the alien with the ease of long practice, "Tired of fighting, tired of people, tired of… of life," his words choked slightly as he almost came to a stop, his eyes lowering as he closed them, expression pained and the knowledge that he was speaking to an audience that didn't care reverberating in his head, "I… I think I need a favor, Zim."

"YOU? YOU, the Dib-monkey, ask a favor of the might ZIM?" Zim snapped, eyes going wide and then narrow again, finally disappearing altogether as he tilted his head back in a vicious and derisive laugh. Dib stood through all of this, knowing that his mind had been right, that Zim didn't and would never care one way or the other.

"I'll give you something in return," he said, shrugging, his face a mask of nonchalance. Zim stopped laughing suddenly, his eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"ZIM needs nothing from YOU!" he said, arm gesturing briskly toward the boy, "What is it?"

Dib narrowed his own eyes in thought, "My lab," he said, sighing in defeat. It wasn't like he was going to need it anyway. He saw the Irken's eyes go wide for a moment, and couldn't help but smile in his mind, "and… and you can have the Earth, Zim. I'm… I'm tired of it all. I don't want to bother fighting you anymore."

The Irken glared, and Dib could tell he was too prideful to take his offer. He sighed inaudibly as the next words showed he was correct.

"You PATHETIC human. ZIM HAS a lab, and ZIM HAS the Earth!" he sneered, gesturing behind him grandly, though the only view that Dib saw was a piece of junk robot, sitting mesmerized in front of an overly loud television and stuffing various items of food and electronics into its mouth.

"Really?" Dib couldn't stop himself from taunting the alien like old times, "I don't see your name on the Earth… or your lab, for that matter."

"Stupid DIB-STINK!" Zim retorted, though his eyes shifted marginally, a nervous look passing towards his house as if he really was considering branding his name on it, "Begone with you! Foolish human!"

"Just do me the favor, Zim," Dib said tiredly, glancing upwards as a lofty cloud obscured the moon's face. His mind both welcomed and cried out at the darkness that enveloped the Earth for a moment, but he was also bathe din the glow created by Zim's house, and as such the darkness could not reach him. The boy looked back at Zim, staring right into his eyes, "You won't regret it."

"FINE!" Zim cried, exasperated, "I will TAKE PITY on your useless, GIGANTIC head and do you ONE favor!"

Dib smiled for real, then, not letting his fatigue at the world take away this one moment of triumph for him as he turned slightly, looking back into the sky and noticing how very beautiful the stars were before he turned back, glasses flashing slightly. Zim looked perturbed, and Dib wondered why; perhaps it was because he had not responded to the familiar insult with his automatic reply of 'my head's not big!'? Dib, in fact, no longer cared if his head was or wasn't large for his age.

"Good," he said finally, his voice low and resigned as he nodded, "Zim, I want you to… to…" the words stuck in his throat.

"Tell me, Dib-stink! The sooner we get it over with the sooner I can take over this rotten ball of FILTH and get back to being the amazing ZIM!"

"Kill me, Zim!" Dib cried, his eyes desperate as he stepped forward, hair waving above his head and hands clenching before falling back, expression clouding with too many emotions to count, "Kill me…" he almost sobbed the words, "Kill me, please!"

Zim merely stared, too shocked to respond to the unexpected request. Dib found that he couldn't stop the words coming from his mouth now that he had asked for his favor.

"You… you don't understand what it's like Zim, to have every day, EVERY DAY, go by with no one caring, no one wanting you alive. I used to think things might get better, but they… they've gotten worse! No one listens to what I say, even when I'm right! My own family barely knows of my existence! I am TIRED, Zim! Tired of LIFE! I am tired of having no one believe me, I am tired of being the only one on Earth who has an opinion anymore!" he stopped suddenly, catching his breath and looking the stricken Zim straight in the eye, "Zim, I know that you're the only one who hates the Earth as much as I do. Help me on this; do me the favor. You can take everything I own, use it to accomplish your mission… just… just kill me."

Zim's pride answered before his mind caught up, "ZIM needs no help in accomplishing- WAIT! You hate the Earth?"

Dib nodded.

"YOU STUPID, ANNOYING, DUMB-" Zim lapsed into various grunts and gestures, and a few words that Dib didn't recognize but was sure were very strong curses. Finally, he seemed to become coherent again, "-IDIOTIC _HUMAN_! If you hated the Earth, WHY TRY TO STOP THE AMAZING ZIIIM!"

"Because I wasn't tired until now," Dib responded, still waiting, "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you, Zim, but… you're the only one who can do this for me. I know I can't."

Zim stared at Dib for a long, long moment, his expression wavering from disgust, to curiosity, to anger, and then, finally, to fear as his thick head finally assimilated the fact that his enemy was basically throwing himself at his feet, begging to be killed. Dib's eyes, usually so bright and vengeful, pleaded with him, and there Zim could see the tiredness behind them. Just seeing it made the Irken feel as if he was drowning in a pit of misery, and he quickly averted his eyes, his gaze cold as almost without conscious thought a spider leg slipped out of his Pak, end glowing as the laser powered up, preparing the slice into his enemies heart and end the battle once and for all.

Then, his expression wavered, and Zim gulped, sweat pouring down his brow as he tried to will into existence the simple thought that would release the laser, thus ending Dib's life. With an audible snap, the spider leg retreated back into his Pak, and Zim stumbled backwards into the house. The door slammed before him, coming inches from Dib's stricken face. The boy outside lost it, bringing up his fists and pounding the door for all he was worth, crying as he screamed curses at the Irken within.

"Too easy, Dib," Zim said in a surprisingly normal voice, standing with his back to the door, eyes closed as he tried to regain his composure, "Come back tomorrow night if you really want to die."

Dib pounded the door one last time, breath coming in ragged gasps and scythe-like hair falling over his face limply, and collapsed on the cold cement, unable to move as he lay there, tears streaming from his eyes. The lawn gnomes didn't bother him, and for that much Dib was grateful. The moon's icy face looked down upon him, her rays cold and unfeeling, but her power unquestioned, and Dib's sobs faded, replaced by troubled dreams and nightmares of the real word, which was the worst that the young boy could imagine. His still, limp form on the doorstep curled again into a ball, trying to keep them at bay as he silently fought a losing battle.

Inside the house, deep underground, a screen displayed the black, shuddering form. A pair of liquid red eyes watched, troubled and angry, as their owner glared at the screen, his own mind cursing as he tried ad failed to imagine actually killing the boy.

"Curse you, Dib," Zim hissed, "Curse you!"

* * *

_Thank you for reading this story. If you want a second part, please review and request so, but try not to make just a demand, if you please. I like hearing your opinions on what I've written so far, too._

_Hope to hear from you._


	2. The Pain of Reality

_First off... thank you so much for the support of this story, you guys. I really had no idea that it would have so many reviews by the first day.  
Second off... this part ran long once more. I might as well call this a full-fledged mini-story, now. At least three chapters, maybe four if the story commands it from me. I'm not in control here, the story is (and that's the truth)._

_Replies to reviews:  
xclaimskype:_ _Thanks for being my first reviewer, I really appreciate it. Thanks also for liking the very first fic I ever wrote with Dib in it. Glad I could give you a good read._

_DibMagician: Thanks for the review! Heh, Glad you like it as is, but also REALLY glad you'd prefer a second part XD_

_Tailfeather: You're right, of course. It would be a disgrace to leave the story unfinished like it was. It needs to be finished.  
Not sure if I should be apologizing or flattered that I was able to make this story powerful enough to evoke tears... I think I'll be flattered._

_Dibsthe1: I... I have very little words for the gratitude and pride I felt after reading your review. I certainly don't think words could explain it, but I'll try my best, and say thank you very, very much. Just knowing that you... and all my reviewers, took the time to look at my stories in the first place, and then made the effort to even post a reply or suggestion, warms my heart with emotion that I could never express.  
I'm... You have a very artistic way of words. Speechless with admiration might be a good way to put it, though bland.  
I don't think anything I could say would measure up._

_Invader Shannon: (accepts medal) Thank you so much (bows)_

_Willie: Yeah, yeah, I know. Gotta stop with the cliffies. Thanks again!_

* * *

Far beyond the glow of the city, the woods stood in silent vigil, the tops of the many trees stretching towards the steadily lightening sky, their branches yearning for light, for the sun that they could sense was tantalizingly close. As they waited, silent in their need, a thin, hesitant string of notes echoed from within one of the mighty giant's branches, soon becoming stronger as the light above increased, finally being joined by others as the birds warbled their dawn chorus, welcoming the sun back into the world.

As if encouraged by its welcome, the light touching the very tips of the treetops, barely visible as a glow beyond the horizon, rose up, brilliant as several long, straight rays shot upwards into the sky, birthing a glorious and altogether deceptive sunrise on the quiet world. Below the spectacle, the creatures of the day began to wake, blinking sleep-ridden eyes to rid them of their drowsiness and preparing for one more cycle of light in their monotonous lives.

Within the city, things were quiet, as if the silent, stoic buildings were frozen in respect for the calm and peaceful night that had occurred, showing their thanks. The sun, climbing steadily higher, finally reached its snaking tendrils of illumination around a small, circular road, the houses lined up around the outer edge lighting up and showing their true, though dull, colors to the still world. Around one freakish, green walled house, the opposite seemed to happen, the glow that was so radiant at night fading in the early morning light, almost as if it where trying to blend in with the houses around it, trying to appear small and unthreatening.

On the doorstep of the green house, a small, shivering lump lay limp, its appearance first reminding one of a pile of rags thrown out when they had gotten too old or worn to use anymore. Then, the shape moved, revealing a pale, trembling hand, one that moved limply, as if the muscles weren't entirely coordinated. As the bright rays of the morning sun reached the form, their light soft and warming now but threatening to turn harsh and beating upon rising further into the sky above, the black material surrounding the boy heated up, causing the child to drift into almost feverish dreams. His awareness of the surroundings disappeared completely, and he began to mumble in his sleep, occasionally crying out in fear or horror as another vision of terror took him, dragging him further and further into oblivion of a kind that he wished desperately to avoid, although deep in his mind he welcomed any change to what plagued him.

He still had not woken when the purple door opened, revealing a short, green-skinned creature, his blue-violet eyes –not natural but part of his disguise- narrowing in a look that conveyed utmost disgust as he looked down upon the sad creature lying on his doorstep, having barely moved since the undercover alien had left him there in the middle of the night. The green boy snorted, tentatively reaching out with the toe of his jet-black boot and touching the lump. When the other boy did not respond with more than a whimper, clearly made while asleep, the other started to grow impatient, his fists balling tighter as he jabbed his toe more forcefully into the other's side. The lump didn't respond at all.

A wordless growl escaped the alien's mouth, and he pulled his foot back, kicking hard into the lump, feeling with satisfaction the harsh connection of boot upon flesh and the jerk and cry that resulted. The boy on the doorstep pulled back, his glasses askew on his face and his scythe-like hair, usually so perfectly curved, lying limply in front of his face, giving him a shorter and utterly defeated look. His trench coat was ruffled and wrinkled, his shirt in the same state and stained with dirt and grit from a mix of tears and lying on the ground for so long. His eyes were frightened, defenseless, and, though he had been sleeping, so tired that it was possible to be pulled into them with the effect of a vortex, one that would throw all optimistic thought into a pit of black vipers.

"Get up, Dib," the alien growled, his voice barely recognizable as a voice rather than a wordless snarl of rage, "Get away from my house!"

"Why?" asked the other boy, his tawny eyes reaching towards the alien's unnatural ones, "What can you do to me, Zim? Nothing I haven't already asked for."

"Er…" Zim, caught off guard, brushed off the comment, but his mind couldn't find a suitable response to the first question. He looked down at the still sitting Dib, knocked completely off kilter and not used to having to look down upon his taller rival. Finally, he remembered what he had come out of his house for in the first place, "INSUFFERABLE PIG-SMELLY! ZIIIIM must go to… Skool, " he growled the word with more disgust than he had spoken to Dib with, a considerable feat, and glared at the human before him, "Get off my doorstep, human! ZIM wants nothing to do with yooou!" the alien accompanied his last words with a wild gesture, pointing his finger at Dib, eyes wide and accusing.

"So? I'm not going," Dib sighed, looking back at the place where he had lain for most of the night, his eyes wistful yet forlorn as the feet of his mortal enemy trod the slightly warmed cement, "I'm staying here."

"Oh, I doubt that, Dib," the alien replied, using a tone reserved just for this type of occasion, a tone for explaining things to an infinitely inferior being, "My lawn gnomes will make your stay here very short indeed. GNOMES! AWAY WITH HIM!"

Dib didn't resist as the four gnomes positioned in the freakish yard jumped to life, their overly large and bulging eyes glowing red at the pupils as they moved to surround him instantly. The gnomes were one of the few things in Zim's command that actually obeyed the alien, much to Dib's numerous regrets, but despite the fact that they were able to shoot lasers from their eyes and usually didn't hesitate to be harsh -as they were programmed to be hostile to intruders-, the gnomes stopped after dragging him relatively gently past the fence, throwing him onto the cement beyond and returning to their places.

Dib made no move, simply laying there. Not even his eyes twitched as Zim marched down the walkway of his house, feet kicking violently out in front of him and head held high. The Invader stopped as he came to the obstacle that was Dib, growling, his pinkish teeth bared in anger.

"Get out of my way!" he barked.

"I'll be out of your way forever tonight, Zim," Dib replied, his voice heavy, "You said you would do me a favor."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Zim screamed, both hands pointing wildly at Dib and his expression dramatically condemning, "ZIM said no such thing, HUMAN! Go back to your PITIFUL home and leave your future slave master alone!"

"No."

At this, Zim let loose a tirade of curses that made several people that were just beginning to pass by on the street stop, ears reddening as they stared in astonishment at the small, green-skinned boy. After a few moments, Zim noticed this, his words abruptly dying in his throat as a bead of sweat poured down his brow. He smiled widely, trying to appear, innocent, "And that's all the words you're NOT supposed to say!" he said loudly, appearing as if he were conversing with the limp lump of flesh that refused to move from his path. He looked at all the staring people, "I'M NORMAL!"

At these words, the people shrugged, looking at each other and muttering before going their separate ways, giving no more thought to the two. Zim sighed in relief before he turned his glare once more upon the boy, wishing he could destroy him but knowing that that was exactly what the paranormal investigator wanted most. Zim growled, swiping the air in his fury as he muttered incomprehensible words, pacing back and force where the sidewalk met the walkway and trying to think of something the Dib didn't want that would be unpleasant.

"I'M A GENIUS!" he exclaimed suddenly, laughing in a sinister way as he rounded on Dib. The boy, from his place lying limply on the ground, wondered for an instant what Zim could mean before he found himself gripped by the foot, his boot being almost pulled off as Zim forcefully dragged him down the sidewalk. Dib almost struggled for a moment on instinct, but that instinct was quashed by grim acceptance that he no longer cared what the alien did to him anymore, as long as he could somehow receive his favor in the end. So Dib relaxed, the stones grating against the skin of his back nothing but a distant nuisance and the pull on his limb barely felt through his clouded thoughts. He felt his eyes weighing heavily on him, not wanting to bother staying open anymore. He wished that it were night again, even if night was no longer a restful time for him. The nightmares never allowed him any real respite from life.

With the memory of the nightmares, the horrors of Dib's life again came back at him, gnawing away at his resolve, making the fatigue within him grow, swallowing up little portions of him, the sparks the fueled his personality and will. The boy had thought those sparks were gone completely, but it seemed as if a few had escaped the notice of his reality, and as he was dragged along, his coat scraping across the hard surface below, he felt them die out, snuffed by another day, another long span of time that would offer him no change. He wondered if his sister, Gaz, had even noticed or cared that he was gone, that he hadn't accompanied her to school like he always had. Knowing her, she would be too absorbed in her Gameslave to notice much, and too focused on a new high score to care either way. Dib fought back a sigh; Gaz would be able to take care of herself.

And his father… how long would it take him to notice he was missing? Days? Weeks? Years? Professor Membrane had never had much to do with Dib in his life, only ever spending time with his family in the brief times when he ventured out of his labs for need of coffee or food, and on the rare, yearly occasion that he would take them out to eat. No, the professor wouldn't notice him gone. And if he did, Dib doubted he would care any more than Gaz would. They both got along better by themselves, anyway. Dib's dreams had never measured up to those of his father, and the boy couldn't think of any way that they ever could. He had spent a lifetime trying to prove it, and had failed. Failed miserably.

Dib grunted, the only sound he had made since he had first begun being dragged by the alien, as the steps to the Skool bashed the back of his head one by one. If Zim noticed, the alien didn't appear to care as he seemed to try and make the impacts even more painful by dragging the boy up the stairs more forcefully. Dib didn't bother protesting, seeing the pain as a perfect way to hide the tears streaming from his eyes as he relived the nightmares. Through watery vision he saw the children of the Skool pause, turning their heads and muttering to one another as they saw the spectacle, Zim dragging his mortal enemy and rival since he had arrived into the building, sputtering incoherent but rude sounding sentences as he went.

Instinctively, the crowd parted before them, and Zim had no trouble arriving in the classroom, throwing open the door in his usual dramatic manner but looking anything but the future ruler of Earth as he hunched in the doorway, breath coming in ragged gasps and curses, his wig tousled and his eyes narrowed into a dangerous and threatening glare that even the teacher took the time to notice, her evil-looking glasses narrowed as she flicked her gaze over to the two. Zim stepped into the room, his feet marching in the usual Invader style as he bypassed his own seat without a glance to it, instead heading towards the opposite side of the room, where Dib's desk sat. Zim, one skinny arm held slightly behind him as he gripped the ankle of the limp boy, turned and dropped Dib near the desk, then, deciding that that wasn't good enough, growled and shoved him into the chair, not caring that he was squishing the boy's body into an nearly impossible position. Finally, the limp form stayed, not seeming as if Dib would simply fall to the floor, and Zim huffed in triumph, walking briskly towards his own seat as if nothing had happened, ignoring the stares of every single one of his classmates and the teacher as he sat in his own desk just as the bell rang.

"Now class," The teacher, Ms. Bitters, growled, her voice a hissing drone that seemed inhuman and sinister, "Today we will learn about nuclear fusion and how it will eventually destroy our pathetic little world, bringing DOOM down upon us all. Doom, doom, doom, doom dooooooooom…"

The class eventually stopped listening to the teacher, knowing that when she began one of her doom rants that listening would be rather unproductive, and settled into either talking amongst each other or falling into a dreamlike stupor. Zim looked around, shuddering at the thought of speaking to the disgusting creatures, and decided to imitate Dib, falling into a daze. His thoughts, driven by the almost hypnotic repetition of words droned by the teacher, wandered in ad out of coherency. Thinking like this, though not rare in itself, was considered so because the impulsive alien rarely thought about anything other than vengeance of the moment or taking over the planet.

Almost too soon, the bell for lunch rang, and Zim flinched, dragged forcefully out of his thoughts as he realized that he was free to go to the most hated hour in the Skool day for him. He snarled wordlessly, sliding out of his seat under the glare of the teacher, her spidery fingers squirming across the desk as her nails struck the wood, digging in and gouging it. Zim made for the door, but her voice, hissing but as sharp as a blade, stopped him in his tracks.

"Zim! Since you seemed to feel that you had to drag Dib in here, you take him to lunch!" she ordered. When Zim hesitated, she slithered out from behind her desk, her tall form overshadowing the small Irken as she leaned down, hissing wordlessly at the smaller creature as he inched around her, darting towards Dib's corner and taking him by the nape of the neck, not caring if he choked the boy as he wrenched him from the seat and dragged him as fast as he could out of the class. As soon as he was out of earshot of the door, he growled, cursing the teacher, the school, and anything else he could think of as he made his way to the lunchroom, his glower making the few remaining hall monitors quickly divert their attention elsewhere.

They entered the lunchroom, and all eyes turned again towards the strange and disturbing sight. Zim glared at them, and most of the students lost interest on their own, returning to their disgusting meals as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. After most of the lunchroom had ceased to pay attention, Zim dragged his charge to the food line, receiving the meal that he always got but never ate and, after much grumbling, taking Dib's tray as well. His eyes instantly flicked over to the single table, where only Dib and Gaz ever sat. The purple-haired girl was there, her permanently squinted eyes locked onto the screen of her Gameslave, acting as if nothing had happened or was different, although the person that usually sat next to her was currently being dragged from room to room by his rival and worst enemy.

But then again, Gaz had never cared for much else beyond a video game.

Zim straightened from his threatening and glowering posture, about to march over to the girl and dump her brother into her care, but suddenly he seemed to deflate, knowing that his attempt would not end well. Even if she decided to ignore Zim's approach, the alien would most likely not be appreciated for interrupting her game, however trivially. Zim had no wish to endure the types of doom that the volatile loner could dish out, especially seeing how his enemy had come out after such punishment. The girl hated her brother, anyway.

Resigned, Zim threw Dib into his own table, smirking as he heard the boy's muffled 'Oomph!' as his stomach hit the side of the tabletop, knees smashing painfully into the seat. Almost cheerfully, Zim set the tray in front of the boy, flicking his hand in disgust as the horrible-looking food shifted towards his glove.

"Eat your DISGUSTING FILTH while you can, Dib-human," Zim taunted, his voice mocking, "It'll be the last you ever eat!"

Still, Dib made no move; barely shifting his position as his head lay flat against the table, scythe of hair drooping in front of his open yet dazed eyes. The boy didn't even take note of the food, if one could call it food, in front of him. Zim stared for an instant, awaiting the usual smart reply that he gained from the human, and was again disturbed by the silence, the lack of any type of will whatsoever in the limp, defeated form of his enemy. Perturbed, the alien returned to his usual routine of poking at his food, the only thing missing from the lunch hour the never-moving, ever-watchful gaze that looked for anything Zim did that could expose him. Zim sighed.

"Your lab better be the best you horrible humans can make," he muttered under his breath.

* * *

_Once more, thank you all for reading. I hope I have made this a pleasant time spent on the computer for you.  
As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and helpful. If you take the time, I will certaintly take the time to reply. No exceptions._

_Thank you._

_Interesting Note: this story inspired by the song "Missing', preformed by Evanescence.  
Though it really doesn't have much to do with the storyline at all._


	3. Red Haze and Kindness

_And another chapter is added to the mix.  
__I'm going to say tentatively that this will be FOUR chapters.  
I'm actually not very proud of this particular chapter... I don't know why.  
Interesting fact: all of these chapters so far have been written in the span of three to three and a half hours. It's a record for even me. I usually wait months if I get even the least bit stuckXD The only one that's ever gone this fast was 'Unreal'..._

_Replies:  
xclaimskype: Aw, thanks.I really try with the beginnings of the chapters. I will post regularly! As regularly as I can possible manage!  
Heh, you want more Gaz? Sorry to disappoint you... but this story doesn't have much of her in it...  
Maybe a different story?_

Dibsthe1: You're welcome. I enjoy writing on thisthis story very much, so far, so I update very, very fast. I hope to have it finished by tomarrow night (although I will be sad that it ends...)  
With the flair for writing you have, I don't think you need description XD  
Even I wonder where this is going (shakes head) I still haven't decided the ending yet... it's gonna be a surprise to end all surprises.

_Now... on to the story! I know you all want to read it XD_

* * *

A red haze filled the sky, caused by the brightly burning orb above that was the sun, its rays no longer warm and welcoming as it descended from its highest perch in the firmament, seeming the grumble about the hours that were slowly passing, slowly forcing it to move and approach its demise along the curve of the world. The few clouds that were in the sky were lined and infused with the scarlet light, giving them a hellish and feverish look as they drifted across the heavens, their way slow and monotonous as their forms shifted and changed as they continually evaporated and reformed under the heat.

Far below, the world was quiet, the bustle of the city seeming reserved as more of its occupants tried to avoid the overwhelming heat of the sun by staying hidden inside their buildings. The roads were mostly deserted, only the thin, gaunt forms of those that were forced to stay outside in the heat by virtue of either job or lack of better things to do roaming the quiet streets. A stray dog passed by a squat, red-bricked building, it's ragged ears perking slightly and it's vacant eyes turning towards the sounds of activity within, the skin of its brow, scarred and stitched from an injury or experiment in the past, furrowing before it opened its mouth, panting. It's attention was diverted to a white shape on the sidewalk, sizzling merrily, and it padded over, sniffing at the cooked egg before it gripped it in it's teeth, dragging the morsel of food off the sidewalk and into the shade of the bushes to be eaten.

Inside the building nearby, in the most oppressively hot classroom that faced the merciless rays of the sun, the children were surprisingly quiet, their thoughts focused on the clock above the black-clad, inhuman form of the teacher, her droning voice repeating the same word over and over again as she stared off into oblivion. The minute hand of the old clock twitched, causing the students to tense in their seats, waiting desperately for their last minute of enslavement to end, waiting for their chance to be rid of the Skool building for one more glorious evening.

The teacher stopped in her rant, glaring at them, and just after the echoes of her voice faded from the student's minds the bell rang, loud and harsh in the relatively silent air. A ragged cheer swelled up, and the students leapt from their places, piling through the door and out of the windows, impatient not to waste a single moment of freedom. Two, though, remained, one still sitting in his seat, scrunched in an unnatural position and so still that it was impossible to tell if he were even alive. His black trench coat, ragged and draped over him in a haphazard manner as if it had fallen off and been put back on without any real knowledge of how to do such a thing, hung over each side of the seat.

The boy's head lay on his desk, his eyes open but unresponsive to the noise of the students. A pair of large glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, shining slightly in the red light of the sun as he stared off into the distance. His look was reminiscent of one who has been without sleep for far too long, and the depths of his eyes reflected that. Slowly, they closed, squeezing tightly shut for a moment in an effort to hide the single tear that was forming at the corner of his eye and failing as it traveled down his face. His breath left him in long, ragged heaves, the mark of one who has been in pain or anguish far too long.

The other boy left in the room had paused at the door, looking back with narrowed gaze at the limp figure behind him. He stepped towards the door, head held high, but stopped just before his booted foot passed the frame, shuddering with indecision and anger. With a final growl, the green-skinned creature whirled from the exit, stalking towards the stationary form and grabbing his foot, the same one that he had previously used to drag the boy to the Skool in the first place. Silently, he pulled, grimacing when the tightly packed body of the other stuck in place, refusing to come out of the seat. He pulled harder, yanking on the foot with all his might, and grinned with triumph when the boy slid abruptly out of the seat, large head slamming into the floor loudly and painfully, evoking a sharp cry from him. The teacher's gaze snapped up from her contemplation of her desk's surface, hissing in a sinister way that boded ill towards whomever had interrupted her.

"Zim! Dib! Skool's over! Go home!" she snapped, her voice scratchy and of a tone that would invoke terror into even the coldest heart. The green-skinned boy stiffened at the words, face conveying both impatience and fright as he dragged the scythe-haired boy as quickly as possible across the front of the classroom, throwing open the door and darting out with his charge in tow, desperate to avoid a confrontation with the terrifying teacher or the punishment that would result.

As soon as he was out, Zim let out a long breath that was immediately utilized to utter several harsh grumbles and mutters. He marched through the hall with single-minded determination, feet digging into the floor while he forcefully dragged the limp form behind him, consciously trying to hit every unpleasant object lying in the hall as he went to make the trip even worse upon the one who was being pulled. Zim seemed to be in his own little world as he let loose a invective rant, free arm flailing in wild gestures as he growled, grunted, hissed, and cursed as he exited the school. He continued nonstop for the entire distance to his home, at which point he stopped, stared at the freakish green walls and purple door, looked back at the one whom he was dragging, and began ranting once more, this time narrowing the subject matter to the one whom he was pulling as he passed by his own house, heading down the street and onward to another, more technologically based dwelling.

The electric fence crackled with power as Zim came near it; it's glowing blue-white light forcing the alien to approach the front door. Before Zim could turn to enter the walkway leading to Dib's front door, however, a large security guard stepped in the way, brandishing a long metal device that crackled at the end with the same power that the fence was charged with. Zim looked up at the guard, his blue-violet eyes narrowing as he growled. A pause in his tirade of words had been forced upon him with this encounter, a fact that he was visibly irritated about.

"OUT OF ZIM'S WAY!" he yelled, his voice deafening.

"You have security clearance?" the guard asked, his expression behind the visor unreadable but his tone condescending. Zim bristled.

"ZIM needs no… clearance," he growled, "Move out of ZIM'S way, FILTHY human!"

"All people wishing to enter the Membrane home have to have security clearance, boy," the guard replied, brandishing his electric prod threateningly, "No clearance, no entry."

"ARRRRGGGH!" before Zim could demand entry again, the guard shoved the stick into his midsection, causing several hundred volts of electricity to course through the alien's body and, through his connection to Dib, the boy's body as well. Zim recovered in an instant, his gaze promising painful death, as smoke tendrils rose off from his body to disappear into the air above.

"You dare invoke the wrath of ZIM! PITIF- AHHHHHH! GAHHHH, IT HURTS!"

Again smoking from the shock, Zim sent another glare at the human, who only raised the cattle prod once more; it's end sparking dangerously as it approached him. Snarling in wordless anger, Zim picked up the limp foot that he had dropped while he was being shocked a second time, shoulders hunched and every movement of his body angry and pained as he dragged the boy away, grumbling under his breath once more and cursing the security guard, who watched him go with a victorious stance. People, coming out of their homes now that the sun was less harsh, stared in puzzlement at the scene before going about their business, ignoring the passing boy and the one whom he was dragging as if it were an everyday occurrence.

Dib opened his eyes slightly as cool tile replaced harsh, burning sidewalk below him, his eyes blinking dazedly as he stared up at a mass of gray and magenta wires. The grip on his foot loosened, allowing the limb to drop limply to the floor, and Dib could faintly hear the familiar muttering of his enemy over the background noise of an overly loud television. A childish squeal of delight ripped through the air, and the scythe-haired boy flinched as a weight jumped upon his stomach, his sight invaded by two brightly glowing aqua eyes. With a yelp, the boy scrambled back, his back slamming into the door as he suddenly realized where he was. Pain flared in all his limbs as the residue from the shock presented itself.

The robot tumbled off him and hit the floor face first, giggling insanely, and Dib looked at it warily for a moment before his gaze traveled upwards, meeting the angry blue-violet glare of the green-skinned alien that stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Zim narrowed his eyes at Dib's gaze for a moment, looking reproachful, before the Irken turned, marching into the other room as if his mortal enemy wasn't sitting in a stupor just inside his door.

"GIR! Watch the human! I'm going down into the lab!"

"Yaaaay! Bacon!" the robot squealed happily, running around the middle of the floor with the energy of a hyperactive rabbit. Dib stared, brow furrowing, before he sighed and hunched back against the wall, eyes lidding over and mind withdrawing within itself as he hugged his knees, trying to ignore the stiffness and pain. There was silence from the kitchen, and then an incomprehensible mutter –probably replying to the robot's strange exclamation- and the sound of a toilet flushing. Zim had gone to his lab, leaving Dib alone in his base.

It was a hurtful blow to the young boy, and one that struck hard; Zim no longer thought of him as a threat to his mission. Dib choked back a sob, closing his eyes tightly and willing himself not to cry, not to show any more weakness. He told himself over and over again that it would all be over soon.

"Awwww…. What's the matter?" Dib opened his eyes slowly, looking up into the innocent face of the robot, which wasn't even disguised. He shook his head tiredly, not wanting to answer, "I know what yoooooou neeeeed! Come watch TV with me!"

With that, the scythe-haired boy found himself being dragged towards the couch so fast that he barely touched the floor. The little robot giggled manically, setting Dib onto the couch and jumping up beside him, putting both hands onto its chin and setting its elbows on its knees as it stared at the television screen, entranced. The image of a growling monkey stared back, occasionally making a sound or action, at which the Gir would scream with joy and laughter. Dib, not interested in the show or anything else, stared at the ceiling with a miserable expression, his glasses crooked on his face. Not even the robot's repeated screams could penetrate his moping, nor the softer repetitions of, "I love this show."

"Aww… the big-head boy still sad!" the robot said, finally noticing that Dib wasn't watching the television along with it. In a rare moment of clarity, Gir shut the TV off, something unheard of for the little robot to do, and turned on the couch, watching Dib with the same type of fascination that it had been watching the disturbing primate with. Dib didn't move except to blink, his eyes remaining closed for a long, painful moment before cracking open slightly, a ragged breath escaping him. The robot cocked his head in a dog-like manner, "Cooooome ooooooon big-head boy! Say sumthin!"

"Why? You wouldn't understand," Dib replied, turning his head to look at Gir, amazed by how large the aqua eyes looked, and how much innocent soul was fit into them. The robot squealed again, taking a stuffed moose out of his head and squeezing it, and Dib knew that that would be the end of the conversation. He turned his eyes back to the wall, sniffing.

"Try me!" Gir said suddenly, smiling. Dib flinched; looking back at the robot as it promptly ate the stuffed moose, eyes pinched into a delighted expression.

"What?" he asked, startled.

"Annnnnd, then we can go to the moon in a flyin' banana! And I can dance nekkid with taquitos! I needs me a new moose!" Gir screamed incoherently for a moment, "Annnd I wanna listen to big-head boy! His head's big… like a taco! TAAAAACCCCCCOOOOOSSSS!" With that, a robotic arm came out of the robot's head, this time holding a taco, and Gir squeaked with delight, shoving the food unnecessarily messily into his mouth. Dib looked back at him, one eyebrow raised, his curiosity beating back the fatigue he was feeling.

"Okay…" he said hesitantly, looking into Gir's huge eyes, "I guess I can tell you…"

"YAAAY! PIGGY WANTS TO HEAR, TOO!" Gir screamed deafeningly, jumping up and running to get a stuffed pig off from the floor, then jumping back on the couch, eyes wide and entranced as it sat, watching Dib like it would a television show. The boy hesitated for a moment, but then began speaking, his voice uncertain, stumbling in places, but slowly growing in strength as he told the robot everything. Everything that had hurt him, everything he felt and why he hated the world so much, came out in his words. In the middle of his speech, he stood, pacing in front of the couch, unable to stay still. The little robot listened through all of it, eyes wide, occasionally squeezing the stuffed pig it held tightly as Dib reached a particularly sad or tormenting part.

"And… and I'm tired of it all," Dib said finally, his voice fading to a whisper, "I… I don't want to have to face it anymore. I don't know if you'd understand, Gir, but it's hard to have no one care about you. I could disappear off the face of the Earth and no one would notice I'm missing… so I will. I'm… having Zim do me a favor tonight; he said he would. I'll make him do it even if I have to attack him…" Dib sat on the couch one more, his head in his hands, looking like walking death. He squeezed his eyes closed, unable to stop the tears as he choked out the last, finishing sentences to his story, "I… Gir, I don't want to live anymore! I want to die!"

There was silence after the remnants of his voice faded from the room, and Dib sighed heavily, breath hitching in his chest. The robot didn't understand or care, either. He was cursed; he would never be understood, believed, cared about, or otherwise noticed. He would be doing the world a favor by having Zim kill him, as much as he hated the thought of doing anything for the world that had rejected him. It wasn't as if he would be changing anything by dying, anyway.

"IIII feeeel a hug in meeeeeeee," a voice beside him cut through his thoughts, and Dib looked up just in time to see Gir jump at him, its robotic arms encircling his neck as it squealed and nuzzled against him, the stuffed pig forgotten. Dib stiffened, shocked, and reached up immediately to push the robot off him. His hands, however, trembled to a stop as something within him responded to the comfort that Gir was trying to give him, and instead of pushing Gir off, he wrapped his arms tightly around the little metal body, crying openly as the tiny robot waited astonishingly patiently, eyes lit up at its successful attempt to reach out to the boy.

Finally, Dib's racking sobs faded, and he looked down in his arms, red-rimmed eyes still tired, but less anguished than before. Gir mumbled contentedly, fast asleep and curled up in the boy's arms like a cat in a warm lap. With an amused smile, Dib set the robot down on the couch by its pig, looking at the window and seeing the sun beginning to set. His eyes clouded, the temporary lift to his spirits plummeting. The rest of the house was silent, almost oppressive now that the main force of life within it was asleep, and the ever-lengthening shadows outside began to pervade the slight glow of the lights above, creeping in through the window like a carpet of swarming spiders. Dib shivered, wishing with all his heart that the moon would rise, that he could go outside and feel that cold light one last time before he forced Zim into killing him.

But it wasn't night yet. Dib reached up slightly, moving his glasses into place, and curled up into a corner of the couch, his trench coat spread around him like a blanket as he glanced one last time at the small robot across from him, feeling grateful. He closed his eyes, prepared to have the last dreams of his young and tragic life.

"Thank you, Gir," he murmured before he fell down into oblivion, allowing the darkness to take him.

* * *

_Let's all say it together! AWWWWWWWWWWWWW...  
XD_

_C'mon, you KNOW you all wanted to see more Gir.  
Also a first for me writing that character, too. Hm... Hope I did okay._


	4. No Regrets

_Guess what, everyone? THIS is the last chapter of this story!  
The story that was SUPPOSED to be a One-shot!  
Wow... I wish to hurt myself every time I read this. Because the ending is SO much different from what I was originally planning. Someday... probably never, I may post an alternate ending. But that would require me to get up the gall to work on it again XD _

Review reply time. Be afraid, pathetic earth-creatures:

_Dibsthe1: What old expression? Huh? Okay, never mind... Yeah, that part WAS inspired by Battle Dib, whcih I had just watched previous to writing that particular chapter. I thought the idea was pretty good, and tried to lighten up the mood JUST enough to make it slightly funny in a sad, pitiful way.  
To be truthful, I don't like Gir much, either. Except in the one episode where he went evil... that one was neat._

_ChickenLeg: No, I have never had the HORROR of meeting a hyperactive rabbit that can do those things, and I never want to. XD  
The next part HAS ARRIVED! _

Tailfeather: I try... that's all I can say. Thank you so much for liking my story (nods head)

_Now read, my horde of readers! READ!_

* * *

A cold wind blew through the dark air, the whispering tendrils of its invisible force brushing the ground, parting the grass with its gentle strength before it rose, splaying out like a phoenix rising, unseeable wings stretching to their limit as it rose over the treetops, the feathery touch of its passing making the branches sway, moving back and forth in sweeping arcs as their leaves rustled, creating a tune as old as life itself. A few of the less secure leaves strained at their attachments, trying desperately to remain on their places, before finally ripping apart, being carried on the tail of the breeze, tumbling over and around as their life faded within them. They eventually fell to the ground; still, limp bodies creating a soft, noiseless carpet upon which the just-awaking nocturnal life trod, thus fulfilling a purpose in death just as well as life.

Far in the distance, a long, lonely howl drifted through the air, speaking of the hunt begun, the journey of its owner and the power of song as the noise swelled, a tribute to life, loss, and plenty. Ears all across the forest perked at the sound, some shivering with fear, others rising with the urge to join the hunt, to run and feel the bloodlust rise within one's soul as the age old scene reincarnated itself in another desperate flight of predator and prey. Other howls soon joined the swelling notes as a soft, cold light rose up from the horizon, moving faster than the slow body of the sun and void of heat or comfort, a spectacle of the unknown.

In the still hazy depths of the city, the noise of the evening traffic was just beginning to thin, the sounds of the bustling daytime fading into the more peaceful stupor of the night. A bird, its feathers ruffling with uncertainty, shivered slightly as it tried to make out shapes in the darkness that surrounded it. Finally, its wings spread, holding still and trembling for a moment before it pushed them downwards in a powerful stroke, lifting from its perch and falling down towards the sounds of passing cars and talking humans, swooping far above them and leveling out in its flight as it searched for a suitable place to rest for the night.

Finally, its small, beady eyes caught sight of a faint glow in the distance, and the bird changed its course to head towards it, small wings beating more energetically as it upped the pace. As it reached the small green home that was wedged in between two larger, bland apartment buildings, it slowed, circling above lazily as its wings were bathed in the ethereal greenish-yellow glow. The house was attached to the buildings surrounding it via thick wires, and it was towards them that the avian finally dove, letting out a high, thin chirp as it flared its wings, slowing and settling gracefully onto the chrome surface, claws skittering slightly. The bird sighed, its feathers puffing up in contentment, before it tucked its head under one wings, letting a peaceful sleep overtake it as the moon above shone its light down softly on the dozing world below, its light banishing the red glow that had previously marred the otherwise perfectly dark night.

Within the house, however, things were far from peaceful as, in the large, multi-colored living room just beyond the purple door, a small shape twitched, a gasp and a thin, reedy cry of fright escaping it as it thrashed from side to side. The large, brownish-red couch it sat on trembled with the force of the sleeping form's struggles, cushions, already beaten and worn through long months of abuse, looking about ready to tear and rip apart. The room around it was dark; the moon's light that entered through the windows barely enough to illuminate small squares of the tiled floor, and offered no comfort to sooth the dreams that plagued the small boy who lay on the furniture, lost within his own world, trapped somewhere where not even he could reach.

From somewhere in the next room, the sound of grumbling rose, seeming hoarse, as if the owner of the voice had strained himself past the limits of talking but refused to quit. As the grumbling continued, a faint reddish glow could be seen reflected in the clean surface of one of the larger appliances in the room, moving from side to side, growing larger and smaller in time with the inflections of the hoarse voice. A sudden cry from the living room made the voice abruptly stop, the red glow almost vanishing before the doorway to the kitchen was shadowed by a short through somehow looming form, large, bright red eyes giving off their own light as if there was a fire burning within them. Two long, graceful antenna rose atop its head, twitching as another, quieter cry came from the boy, cutting off abruptly as if some force had taken the sleeper into a chokehold.

"Dib," the red-eyed creature hissed, voice angry despite its hoarseness. Zim marched forward, not bothering to turn on the lights as he loomed over the side of the couch where Dib slept, moaning and shivering as he tried and failed repeatedly to fight off his inner demons. Zim rose one gloved hand, three fingers extended as he reached out as if to wake the boy, but suddenly he stopped, one eye narrowing slightly, twitching as his fingers curled into a fist. His features, deeply shadowed and lit only from the reflected glow of the moon and what light reached his face from his eyes, became angry to the point of fury as he pulled back his arm.

"Zim…" the tired whisper made the alien pause, slightly surprised as Dib turned his face to him, eyes still tightly closed as if he was fighting off something unpleasant. The boy's expression fell into an almost thoughtful state before he flinched, head shaking from side to side and terrified gasps coming from him. Zim growled, his pink-tinted teeth visible in the wan moonlight, but the sobbing faded almost as soon as it came. Surprisingly, as Zim rose his fist once more, the boy's lips moved, his voice, broken and lost, rising into a soft whisper, "No… no… don't take me… I swear I…. please, believe me…"

"Pathetic Dib-human," Zim hissed, his voice quiet and infuriated as he paced in front of the couch, his eyes briefly flitting over the stiff form of his robot on the other side before he dismissed it, his gaze moving to his fist, so tightly clenched that he felt the skin breaking beneath his claws. Slowly, he unfurled it, the pain of the simple movement hitting him, adding to the overwhelming anger he already felt for the boy as he deemed the injury to be Dib's fault. Everything was Dib's fault.

"Dad? Dad… help me…" Dib seemed to be lost to another nightmare. Zim, his seething interrupted, stopped and glared, "Dad…. Please? I… I won't…. fail again…. I've failed too many times…" Dib shuddered, a choking sound escaping him, "I'm… sorry Dad… I failed…"

Failure. That was something Zim understood. The alien paused, antenna cocked as he began to listen, eyes narrowed and stance rigid. Dib curled tighter against the arm of the couch, his trembling visibly rising in intensity.

"Sacrificed everything… Gaz… wish I could've… been a better… Zim…"

"What, Dib-monkey?" Zim had hissed out the words without thought, responding to his name. Dib fell silent, a soft whimper drifting through the air.

"Alien… I… don't know what, Zim… Wait… yeah…" Dib seemed to be troubling something out. He was still asleep, that much was clear, but his voice had become slightly more coherent, his mind responding to questions asked of him even when his consciousness was still trapped within the prison that held it, "I… never cared all that much about Earth…"

"Stupid-" Zim stopped himself before he yelled, seeing this state as an opportunity to gain information from his enemy, "Why did you fight ZIM, insufferable human?"

"It's hard… when no one cares about you…" Dib mumbled, his scythe shaped lock of hair, mussed from sleep, pulling back as he moved his head forwards against the sofa arm, "Such a discovery… everyone would care… Dad would… notice…"

"Dumb, inferior, Dib," Zim muttered, going back to pacing, eyes hard.

"Yeah…" The light from the windows, as the moon moved closer to the horizon, lengthened slowly, reaching out until it touched the edge of the couch. Within moments, it bathed the lids of the boy's eyes, and as if moved by some mysterious force they slit open, awareness returning slowly to those depths as they stared up at the clear light, seeing the round, merciless shape through the window, feeling the knowledge that it gave. The glasses set upon the boy's nose flashed as he moved his head slightly, his face completely illuminated by the ethereal light in the sky. Dib felt something deep within him fade out as he looked into the pale face, leaving him curiously free. He smiled, "Yeah, Zim, I am."

Zim bristled, turning back to the human, but shrieked as he saw a large shape loom in his vision, leaping towards him. The alien was knocked backwards form the force, hitting the floor hard, as Dib cried out in animal ferocity, hands encircling Zim's neck as he tried to squeeze the life out of his enemy. Zim thrashed, choking as the air was cut off from his system, his breath catching as he desperately tried to suck air through the closed passageway. Dib's eyes, unable to be seen through the reflection of light in his glasses, stared into the giant red orbs of his enemy, frantically willing the other to make a move.

Suddenly, Dib was thrown back, his small form flying with terrifying ease into the wall, a yelp of pain ripping through his throat at impact. The dark-haired boy slid down the wall, wincing and dazed, and barely managed to look up as Zim loomed over him, spider legs revealed and antenna slicked back against his head as he rose up upon them, murder in his gaze.

"Zim!" Dib sneered, his mouth quirking into a wry grin as he stood somewhat shakily. The alien snarled wordlessly, advancing a step, but Dib dodged under him, grabbing one of the thin ends of the mechanical legs and pulling it off the floor, causing Zim to lose balance and slam painfully into the ground. The enraged scream of the Irken followed Dib as he darted into the kitchen, looking up with a frantic gaze at the appliances there, trying to find one he could hide himself in. Suddenly, he found himself falling, and he hit the floor with a grunt, barely able to catch his breath before he was flipped over, the sharp, glinting end of the spider leg hovering over him, the red eyes beyond gazing with a rage so deep that it could not be expressed in words.

"Dib…" Zim snarled, the point of the leg slipping down an inch further as the alien met the boy's eyes. Dib waited, gaze steady, and suddenly Zim pulled back, eyes wide as he abruptly realized what the boy was trying to do; the trap that he had almost fell for.

"NO!" Dib screamed, all the anguish and loss that he had ever felt ripping out of his throat along with that single, heart-rending word. He lunged forward, hands grasping, and managed to grip the end of the retreating metal limb. Zim stumbled, red eyes narrowed as he frenziedly tried to regain his balance.

"Get off me, Dib-stink!" he demanded, whirling and skittering as he tried to dislodge the boy, the mechanical legs slamming into various household items as the two struggled. There was a screech of metal on metal, and abruptly Zim was jerked forward with a yelp as one of the thin ends of a spider leg slipped on the smooth tile below, others flailing wildly in an instinctual attempt to keep the Irken from falling. The attempt failed miserably, and Zim struck the ground with a painful jolt, groaning pitifully for a moment before he sat up, his eyes squinted in pain as he looked around, trying to locate the boy that he had been fighting with.

There was a thick, pain-filled gurgle, and Zim's eyes shot over to the corner, where a small, ragged lump lay, barely twitching. The Irken sneered, gathering his legs under him, but slipped once again, almost pitching into a wall before he managed to stop himself. Expectantly, Zim waited for the other to rise, to resume what he had started or to throw the old, familiar insults that the Irken was so used to and had come, secretly, to look forward to countering. When no more movement came from Dib's corner, Zim moved forwards, eyes narrowed in puzzlement.

Suddenly, he stopped, red eyes becoming impossibly wide as his foremost spider leg slipped again, though this time the metallic limb left a trail of dark liquid where it skid. Zim stepped back; all his extremities trembling as he finally saw the dark pool growing around his enemy. The boy on the floor shuddered once more, a gasp escaping him, and hesitantly, Zim poked him with one spider leg, shivering slightly as he saw the dark stain covering the end of the metal limb.

The prod served to roll the boy over, and as Zim looked into cracked, broken glasses, the eyes behind them seemed to light up with life for a moment. Dib moved one hand downwards numbly, feeling the gaping hold in his stomach where one of the metallic limbs had managed to impale him as Zim flailed, his hands covered in gushing blood as he brought them, trembling, to his face. Those tawny eyes blinked slowly as the boy assimilated the information, and with an agonized sigh he nodded, looking up thankfully into the frightened, shocked red eyes of his enemy. His hand fell back limply as his strength ebbed away onto the cold, unfeeling tile.

"Thanks… Zim," he gasped, the words seeming to take all his energy as his chest heaved up and down, trying and failing to draw another breath, "No… no… regrets…"

"Dib…?" Zim choked, unable to believe that, after all this time, he had actually succeeded in destroying his rival. He backed up further, shaking his head slightly. Dib's eyes met his for a moment, a tired gratitude echoing within them as they began to fade away, the pool of blood on the floor growing steadily, taking the boy's life with it as it emptied out of him. Finally, his eyes closed, and he seemed to sigh contentedly. His tense, agony-ridden body fell back limply, appearing to deflate as a last heaving breath escaped it.

Zim, dazed, managed to stumble into the living room before he collapsed numbly, his spider legs not even bothering to pull back into his Pak as he stared blankly at the floor, still refusing to believe what had just happened. The more logical side of him told him to rejoice, to celebrate the death of the last bit of resistance against the enslavement of the Earth. He should have been glad; he _knew_ he should have been. He could finally overtake this pitiful ball of filth and gain the respect of his Tallest…

But would the planet really be worth taking over, now that the only force that made trying to take it worthwhile was gone?

"Victory for Zim…" he said weakly, not even trying to stop it as a tear escaped one of his large, blood red eyes, splashing on the tiled floor and fragmenting into thousands of pieces, each lit up by the cold, merciless rays of the moon's light as it lowered itself down through the trees to disappear under the dark curve of the Earth below.

* * *

_Comments? Questions? Rants? Please review! _

As is customary with me upon completing a story, I will now post the lyrics to the song that inspired it.  
There was no point while I was writing this where I was not listening to this song. I had my CD player set on repeat until I finished each chapter.  
And the song NEVER GOT BORING!

_'Missing' by Evanescence  
...__  
_Please, please forgive me  
But I won't be home again  
Maybe some day you'll look up  
And barely conscious you'll say to no one  
Isn't something missing?

You won't cry for my absence I know  
You forgot me long ago  
Am I that unimportant?  
Am I so insignificant?  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?

Even though I'm the sacrifice  
You won't try for me not now  
Though I'd die to know you love me  
I'm all alone  
Isn't someone missing me?

Please, please forgive me  
But I won't be home again  
I know what you do to yourself  
I breathe deep and cry out  
"Isn't something missing?"  
Isn't someone missing me?

Even though I'm the sacrifice  
You won't try for me not now  
Though I'd die to know you love me  
I'm all alone  
isn't someone missing me?

And if I bleed, I'll bleed  
Knowing you don't care  
And if I sleep just to dream of you  
I'll wake without you there  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't something...?

Even though I'm the sacrifice  
You won't try for me not now  
Though I'd die to know you love me  
I'm all alone  
Isn't something missing?  
Isn't someone missing me?


End file.
